Meet the Athletes Holding it Down For Asian Americans in The Rock’s Epic New Show ‘The Titan Games’

The epic sporting competition will push 64 athletes to the limits of their strength, endurance and mental fortitude in a series of head-to-head battles to determine — when all is said and done — who is worthy of being crowned a true Titan.

Emily Hu

Age: 36

Occupation: Medical Device Researcher

While the challenges in this show will demand endurance and mental toughness as much as strength, it’s safe to say that Emily Hu doesn’t need to worry too much about the latter.

That’s because she’s not just strong, she’s world record powerlifter strong. Hu currently holds the world record for the bench press in two different weight classes — 52 kilograms and 56 kilograms (114 pounds and 123 pounds) — as well as the total world record (the combined weight of your best squat, bench press and deadlift) for the 56-kilogram class.

Outside of powerlifting, Hu holds a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and runs clinical trials for biomedical device companies in Silicon Valley. With that combination of brains and brawn, we reckon she’s definitely going to be one to watch out for.

Thong La

Age: 25

Occupation: Mechanical Engineer

Speaking of powerlifting engineers, meet Thong La. This smart and athletic Florida native started working out in college to relieve stress, but quickly transitioned to competitive lifting after graduation, according to CL Tampa. On his 23rd birthday, he entered his first powerlifting meet and got first place.

“During the interview with The Titan Games, I had the medal hanging behind me, and they asked me about it,” he told CL Tampa. His response clearly impressed the producers enough, as he was promptly invited to participate in a group tryout of roughly 100 people before making the final cut of 64.

La has the quote “Be the hardest worker in the room” embedded as his computer wallpaper. Now, we’ll get the chance to see him show off the product of that hard work in front of the very person who said those words: none other than The Rock himself.

In an interview with WGN Radio, the Chicago native revealed just how deep his relationship with fitness is. A multi-sport athlete in high school, Kwan described the extent of his dedication to training.

“I just always was so consistent with my training,” he said. “On top of playing soccer, I would go to the gym after practice, after the games, and grind out ’till like 11, 12 o’clock, and then bike home and do my homework ’till 1, get up at six, and I did this every year and stayed so consistent and that’s what helped me continue to climb higher, especially with the sport of parkour.”

We’ll be looking to see if that incredible consistency and hard work — as well as his distinction as the youngest athlete in the entire competition — will pay dividends.